Bleach Story
by ronko45
Summary: Orihime fights an internal battle... bad summary I know...


Bleach Story

I don't own any characters or the show.

The sun rose brilliantly from the ground as the fighters fought against the incoming hollowfied spirits. Ichigo, he slaughtered the hollows, whilst Uryu's delicate hands plucked back the bow string and let loose a flurry of arrows. They quickly ran to aid the girl struggling over the length of the battle, unfortunately, her power was running low as she grew exhausted, she collapsed, but not before the enemy went and shot at her, a particular green ray; she fell slowly to the ground as the other's caught up. Of course the hollow took this as a chance to escape and it went on, laughing, an evil laugh, that could only spell trouble.

"Orihime, Orihime, are you okay?" The orange haired boy shook her and found she was only asleep. This appeased them and they went to bed right there on the forest floor, feeling right then and there, that that was a better-than-nothing place to catch some z's.

"What's going on? Where am I?" The girl stepped into a house on the top of a hill. This was not your ordinary castle-on-the-hill, no, but something far more malevolent. She felt that she was being pulled into the mansion. The dark opaque windows, the crumbling bricks, and the squeaking door and shutters, only added to the fear growing in her heart. She slowly walked in, cautious of every move made by her and the manor itself. Orihime heard someone call her name. She looked around and saw no one; but she knew she heard that voice, somewhere. She walked on checking every room. In one room there were her memories. The girl noticed the good and the bad; both made her cry. This room was deteriorating, but yet, not really.

In another room, which was surprisingly kept in shape, were her friends. But most pronounced were her best friends, and her Shotenkeshu friends. Tatsuki was here. "Where is Ichigo, and my brother?" she wondered. As she continued down the path she become aware of one of her friends. Ayame was wounded immensely and when she picked her up, she vanished into a cloud of pink smoke. "This is getting weird." She continued walking and then in the middle of the hall, she stopped short, feeling something that she couldn't explain, something right behind the door she stood in front of. She entered the room and immediately started to cry, she finally understood this. This room was better kept than the others…she loved her friends, but Ichigo and her brother had a higher place…in her heart. Here she entered and went to the two statues. Her brother and Ichigo, the only people she loved with all her heart. But if this was her heart then the feeling that she felt, she knew it was not her own.

Just then, Tsubaki and Shione ran to tell Orihime the news. "Get out of here Orihime, it's not safe."

"What do you mean, it's not safe?"

"Orihime just…" Shione was hit by a very familiar face. She swirled down to the ground in agony as she, like Ayame, turned to smoke. Tsubaki tried to save her, but had to worry about Orihime right now.

"What, what are you doing here?"

"Surprised?" asked the hollow. It laughed and then sealed the doors behind the girl and her friend. They had no way to escape. "You will be mine; you will be mine!"

"Tsubaki. Shotenkeshu I reject!" Tsubaki flew forward and hit the hollow head on, but his attack had no effect. "What?"

"Haha I am just a figment in your imagination. You can't defeat me." The hollow started expanding and consuming everything it touched. Eventually Tsubaki was sucked in, but not before an awesome fight. The hollow was no where to be seen. It was very dark in the room now; pitch black as if she had just died herself. She tried to get up; she tried so hard but she couldn't. She was alone. She felt the monster take control of her body, and she saw herself wake up from the terrible sleep. Only problem though, it wasn't her. She saw what the hollow saw from her eyes. The eyes were the window to her soul and now, unexpectedly, she was a danger to her friends. The evil Orihime walked among them planning, and waiting for the right time to strike. She could do nothing. They couldn't hear her from her screams. She just hoped that they notice what was wrong and, even if she dies in the process, get rid of that monster.

"Hmm let's see, haha, let's get rid of one of your dear friends shall we? She'll make an appetizing appetizer. Hahaha." The hollow laughed out and set off to find Tatsuki. It went to her. "Hey um, can I talk to you?"

"Oh sure. What's up?"

"Um well you are my dear!" The hollow paralyzed the girl and started biting her. Blood oozed from the wound and she cried out in horror. All the while, the girl inside was protesting. Tatsuki looked at her friend and cried out once before falling to the ground. Her body smacked the pavement and evil Orihime scooped her up and started biting some more. Her arm would have been eaten up all the way, if something inside the hollow's body hadn't stopped him. "What! How'd you stop me girl?" It tried to break her loose and as it fled from the scene, Orihime's grip was diminished. She could not hold on any longer.

"Something bad has happened at the school; Tatsuki was hurt bad. Rukia, take her now." Ichigo yelled.

"Of course, but this is weird. I don't sense any hollow. Also why would they have come after Tatsuki first? She doesn't have as much spiritual pressure as you do, so why?" Rukia replied.

Ichigo wondered where Orihime was, she was crucial to Tatsuki's recovery and because she wasn't there when her friend was hurt, that was unlike her. "Guys, did you ever see where Orihime went? I can't find her anywhere." They knew nothing either. He decided to look for her after school.

Orihime was tiring from all that this hollow was doing because she had to use all her strength to save the innocent people. This hollow though was getting tired of her constant interruptions and decided to get back at her. Since it had access to all her memories and everything that she felt, it figured it should put that to good use. The crafty hollow noticed that a certain friend was coming to check up on Orihime. Perfect it thought. Perfect.

A knock was heard on the door of Orihime's apartment as the imposter opened it. "Hi Ichigo."

"Um Orihime don't you know that Tatsuki was hurt?"

"What?" it asked.

"Yea, where were you. You should go see her." Seeing that if it left, Ichigo would notice it was just an imposter, it decided to cry -because from Orihime's memories he didn't like when she cried- so it turned around and started sobbing, and just like the hollow predicted: hook, line, and sinker. Orihime couldn't do anything about this, she had wasted her power and she silently sobbed knowing what this fiend was about to do. She sat down at the table in the middle of her room as Ichigo followed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't cry, it's not your fault you weren't there." This made her cry even more, the imposter and the real one.

That's when she turned around and pulled up to Ichigo. He was stunned and ran to the other side of the room. She once again went up to him and forced herself onto him. The hollow knew he wouldn't hit her in this body, so he kept at it. "Orihime wha…what are you doing." Once he was pinned to the wall, she took his lips and planted a long and passionate kiss on it. He held for a second and that's when everything got ruined for both of them.

Orihime, with what little strength she had left, contacted Ichigo and told him to kill this monster. Ichigo pulled back and wiped his mouth. He went over the vision that he just got. "Orihime…Orihime," He then transformed into a soul reaper. "Who are you. You're not Orihime."

"What are you talking about." She came onto him once more. He stepped back.

"Orihime would never demean herself. Orihime I know you're in there somewhere. Come on."

"How do you know that she isn't dead," the imposter said with a wicked grin.

"Because," replied the soul reaper, "Tatsuki wasn't dead. That means you were stopped." The hollow ran out of the apartment into the setting afternoon sun. He ran after her. Uryu and Chad were walking to see if Ichigo had found out about Orihime. They saw her eyes were crazy and started running after her.

"Grrr" the hollow growled as he tried to hit Uryu.

"Orihime, what are you doing. Snap out of it." Uryu tried to get to her but couldn't. He knew Ichigo was the only man for this job. Speak of the devil.

"What's up Ichigo?" asked Chad.."

"Did she come by? Where's Orihime?" Uryu side-stepped the fiend as Ichigo took the hit instead. "I see you found her."

"What's up with her?" The archer asked.

"I think when we fought the hollow, remember, the green ray?"

"Yea I do. We should take her to Kisuke's for some help."

"Yeah, if we can catch her." All the while the three were in combat; it was hard for the boys because they didn't want to hit their friend. "We have to pin her down." Ichigo said. Every time the hollow got closer to Ichigo, Orihime found that she grew stronger. Seeing them fight for her gave her faith and she told them to kill her. She didn't want to see anyone else hurt. It was her fault for being so weak. She looked out of her own eyes and from the hollow's evil eyes she felt she made contact with the eyes of her love.

The boy froze in place as if he had felt something. "Kill me." It had said. He heard it. He felt bad for doing this, but they were getting no where. The boy went up to the menace and looked it straight in the eye as if looking into its soul. Orihime saw. "Orihime if you're in there, I'm sorry. Getsuga tenshou." He pulled his hand back as the black zanpaktou unleashed its power. A wave of black energy hit Orihime, she dropped to her knees and they went off to Hat and Clog's shop.

"Yoroichi had gone to the Soul Society to get some help from research and development. So, how'd she get this way?" They explained the part that they understood had happened. "Ah so it looks like she is still in there but has no control whatsoever over her body."

"So how do we help her? We know her body is still hers, and we don't want to hurt her." Chad said.

"She is still in their, I know it." They looked at the girl, held down by Tessai's bounding technique, as they contemplated what to do.

"I think she is the only one who can break free of this."

"What?" they all yelled. Kisuke nodded.

"Yea, I think this power controls the person's soul. They can defeat it if they had enough power."

"Does she have enough power to stop it?" Chad asked.

"Of course she does!" Ichigo yelled. "We just have to cheer her on!" The orange-haired boy went to the girl and gripped her shoulders as he looked deep into her eyes, not focusing on anything else. The girl in the darkness felt something but still sat down. "Orihime, I don't care what you said. You know that none of us can kill you, or want to kill you." They looked at him work. "Fight this hollow. I know you can beat it, for us, for Tatsuki, for me." The boy gripped harder when he heard the faintest whisper.

"Ichi….go"

"I'm here Orihime, come on just follow my voice." Her eyes became full and she smiled a soft smile.

"Ichigo, if I don't beat him, I want you to kill me. Okay? He already killed my Shotenkeshu buddies, and I hurt you guys and Tatsuki." Tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped on the floor as her dress soaked it up. The boy only gripped harder.

"Don't say that," he said holding back his tears. "We have never given up on you before and we know you would never give up on us. Fight him Orihime."

"I can't…I only have some time left before he wakes up and…then…"

"Alright then," he said. "If you won't fight him then I won't fight you, none of us will. If I die it's because of you and I know you won't be able to live with that guilt."

"But Ichigo, I can't, I'm too weak."

"If that was true I wouldn't be putting my life in your hands. I believe in you Orihime." He hugged her as she continued to cry. No one else said anything else, knowing that everything he put out there would have an effect on her. Her tears became less and he knew she was gone when the hollow came back.

"Get off me…I'll tear you all limb from limb!" He had a scowl and just looked at the menace before him. 'Get him Orihime,' he thought.

The girl sat in the black room thinking about what to do. Did she really have to think? No. She wanted to see her friends; she wanted to be strong, she wanted to see Ichigo. She got up slowly as strength filled her heart. The black was succumbing to the light and she concentrated. Even though she didn't have her Shotenkeshu buddies, she would still fight; she would not give up.

The hollow felt the presence of an inside power as he looked around the chamber. It was coming from where the girl was. He wanted to do this quick. He shot a cero at the door and the wooden pieces fell to the floor, charred, and catching fire. She walked up to him and promised herself she would win this. She had no way to fight so she threw the broken pieces of wood at it. The hollow laughed at such a juvenile trick and had another cero ready for her. Her hands instinctively went together, like she was producing a shield, as the red beam reached her.

She felt the beam dissipate into nothing when she looked up, the orange shield was there. That can only mean one thing, her Shotenkeshu buddies came back. "Wow, you guys are alive?" she said crying.

"Of course we are sweetie." Said Ayame. "We're inside of you."

"Curses." Ichigo and the others heard the hollow and it seemed like Orihime was winning. She walked closer to the creature with the shield and called out Tsubaki. He went in and pierced the hollow. "You'll never beat me. I'm taking this body and you with me." It said as its ashes scattered into the wind. Orihime knew he wasn't lying; she knew her heart felt different.

"Ichigo, I beat…him." She said weakly. "It seems I'm going away too…" they were alarmed with the information they had. They were going to lose Orihime. "Bye you guys…tell Tatsuki I'm sorry and Ichigo…I love…" her voice faded before she finished but he was the only one to hear it. He grew angry and worried, shaking her to come back to. Uryu and Chad held him back as he thrashed, trying to get back to her.

"Orihime!" he cried. "Let me go." Ichigo broke free and quickly scrambled back to her. "Orihime, please come back. You're not done for…you're a fighter, you've always been. Please Orihime…" His sobs filled the small room, all other occupants silently watching. He went closer to the unconscious girl and cupped her face. His face went closer until his lips touched her soft lips. Ichigo hesitated for a while, contemplating whether he should go through with this. Orihime would be lost, if he didn't try to his fullest potential and for some unknown reason he wanted to kiss her; he felt like it would be the last time he would see her.

He kissed her. At first it was just a peck, but after a while it turned into a passion that he never knew resided inside him. His tears flowed harder as he lowered his head crying out her name. This proved it, she was gone forever; gone forever from everybody, gone forever from him… "Orihime I love you too," he whispered, "I love you."

"Orihime Inoue we've watched you. You were skillful in the battle of the Seireitiei and also in successfully breaching us. Your healing power is exponential. Welcome to Squad 4." The girl bowed to Central 46, her hair covering her excited face.

"Thank you for this opportunity." 'It's only a matter of time Ichigo…I am glad that you love me, just wait, wait for me…'


End file.
